The New Resurrectionist Church of the Beloved
An attempt to bring happiness and faith to a troubled world, the church became hijacked and corrupted, eventually sealing it's own death in the desert. Given to whole-hearted worship, they became just another group of savages after the bomb, dying from inbreeding and dehydration. History Pre-War The Church of the Resurrection was envisioned as a tool to spread goodwill and Christian teachings by Arin Miles, a Born Again Evangelist, and contractor. He had spent his early years mired in drugs and prostitutes which had almost landed him in Folsom State Prison before he found God. From that roadside revival, he turned his life around and quit drugs as well as loose women. He got an honest job and eventually started his own contracting business. He maintained his faith the entire time, going so far as to donate an entire month's wages to help a homeless shelter stay open. Miles became one of Cincinnati's most beloved citizens, and at age 51 felt it was time to give back. His opportunity would come in 2053, when 9th Ave. Baptist closed its doors. Miles took this as a sign and purchased the building as well as a warehouse downtown. Hiring his old company to renovate both, The church was expanded slightly and renamed The Church of the Resurrection, with Miles as interim minister. The warehouse was turned into a combined public kitchen/Shelter for the poor, which was also to be operated by the church. The first few services in 2055 attracted a full crowd, but most were just curious about this new church and attendance fell steadily. This is the time when Miles found his minister; Joshua Henders, an Evangelist from Texas, who had nearly a decade of experience already. Henders would prove to be a passionate speaker that could hold a full crowd like he has having an intimate conversation with them. Miles was so impressed that he changed his will to make his new minister as his heir if when his time came. Unfortunately, it would come before Henders would show his true colors, with Miles dying at the age of 54 in 2056. Henders, who had planned on going west, was greatly surprised to find out he was declared the head of the church. He was shocked senseless when he learned how much was in it's coffers, and began to buy things 'for the church'. He would also start interviewing members of the congregation, becoming intimate with more than one of both sexes. The Church would gain national attention during the early 2060s. It was first in a positive light as Henders had overheard a conversation from an Asiatic family in his congregation about sabotage, and reported it to the police. It turned out to be a real plot of corporate espionage, with the 'family' having been hired by a French company. The minister would enjoy interviews with public and national news for the next year and a half, until a young reporter from GNN did some digging on his background. He discovered the minister was not named Joshua Henders, but Clive Harrow, a convicted conman, and rapist. He also had interviewed former members of the church, who all reported that the minister performed sexual acts with other members, sometimes by force. The formerly adoring press turned on him in a flash, calling for his arrest. Henders knew it was time for a quick escape, so he contacted his accountant, and the two spent six hours looking for the perfect area to make a home, which they found in the Chihuahuan desert. Henders then gave one last Sermon, which he ended by telling the congregants about his plans to move and urged them to join him. He and sixty followers would leave the country the next Saturday, arriving at a small group of bunkhouses after three days of driving. From here they expanded, building a kitchen, gathering spot and repaired their quarters. Henders would be at the forefront of all of these projects, seemingly everywhere at once. The settlement was finished on November 16th, 2064, and was christened Nazareth by the residents. There was much hope to be found at first; they tapped into the San Gabirel Aquifer, supplying them with freshwater, which allowed them to irrigate their crops. By 2072 the community was fully self-sufficient and cut off most contact with the outside world. This silence would prompt relatives to ask the Government to investigate, but with the war with China intensifying, no one was willing to check on the group, who they felt was another group of 'pinkos'. The intervention might have changed the eventual fate of the Church; with little more to do and much free time, Henders returned to his old ways, and there were many suspicious births leading to the Great War. The War The church was unaffected from the bombing with the radiation blowing away from their compound. The subsequent earthquakes ravaged their irrigation and pump systems, however, destroying the pipes and turning their farmlands into sinkholes. Henders tried to rally the community, saying that the worst was over, and they could rebuild. They began to do this, though with low spirits they finished after a much longer time than it originally took. It wouldn't be until May of 2078 that the water was flowing properly again and by then Henders had realized that something big had definitely happened. The messages and conversations he heard over the radio in his office spoke of some big bombing, but there weren't any soldiers. There appeared not to be a Government anywhere either, so he chose to make his move. After dinner during his usual sermon time, he stood before the gathered church and announced that he was a prophet sent by God to guide them. Some were skeptical, but his years of preaching, subtle implying and 'personal time' with the congregants made it easy to persuade the holdouts. He told them that the outside world was hateful and jealous and would try to stop them, but that he would lead the flock to salvation. Post-War Henders Renamed the church The New Resurrectionist Church of the Beloved and told them that they were all beloved, all his children. He even officially announced his child and Heir: Micheal Huach. He had 'persuaded' Micheal's mom the week previous to back his narrative, and said that they were chosen to bear the next prophet; thus he began grooming Micheal to take over. This seemed strange turn of events, but Henders was in a hurry; he had been coughing blood for months, and now had started to see small chunks of tissue. Micheal would be groomed until Henders passing in 2081. Micheal took control the day after his father was buried, and would prove very similar to his father. He was also charming, a good speaker, and charismatic and also grew intimate with more than one member of the congregation. As the children of the previous years began to grow, however, their food and irrigation began to feel the strain; the amount of surplus food started dwindling over the years, and the water decreased to the point that Micheal had to implement rationing in 2101. This didn't stop him from ceasing his nocturnal activities, however, and another slew of suspicious births happened over the next few years. He managed to maintain the balance in the compound until 2108 when they suffered a third draught. The meager food stocks ran out in two weeks, and all were looking to Micheal. He at first held prayers for rain, the entire congregation kneeling for hours while not a cloud appeared in the sky. After that had failed, he had no backup. He was taught that he was a true prophet by Henders, and the lack of results troubled him. It was in this mind state that he found the answer to the food shortage. He was with an elder member of the church one night when she said something that he didn't agree with. Usually pleasant, Micheal slapped her repeatedly before setting in with a brass paperweight. When he was finished, her face was hardly recognizable. Keeping calm, he carried the body to the kitchen, where he spent all night slicing her apart. When morning came, he announced that God has sent down some meat. When asked what happened the woman, he acted as surprised as they were and helped them look, having safely cleaned up the previous night. They stopped after a few hours to enjoy the meal, and Micheal saw their spirits rise from it. This was when he decided on his plan; feed the bodies of the church to the body of the church. So every few months someone would go missing, and meat would appear the next morning. Some questioned this, but most preferred not to think about it. By 2113 the second generation of children had begun showing disturbing development; an array of mental illnesses; trouble with organ functions; mutations. One child was seemingly untouched by all these named Melvin, Who Micheal had secretly fathered. Micheal took Melvin under his wing, and was amazed by the eleven-year old's intelligence and began teaching him about leading. Disaster would strike in 2116 when the pipes broke yet again, and they couldn't repair them. Unable to reach the aquifer the people panicked. The older members blamed Micheal and tried to leave, only to be stopped by a small gang of the more faithful. The encounter escalated and then turned violent, and Micheal came upon the scene in time to see those trying to leave be beaten to death. He tried to stay on top of the situation by praising the murderers, who reaffirmed their belief in him. He ordered them to take the bodies to the kitchen where he cut them up, preparing meals for the next few months from the remains. It rained that winter, allowing their crops to come back to life, to everyone's great relief. The food and collected rain held them until Micheal's death in 2125, After which Melvin became the leader of the Church. Most of the congregants were young and inbred, the father's being the same for them and their parents. This lead to them regressing into cannibalism much more willingly whenever the crops and water failed which frequently happened in the late 2120s. The elder members often fell 'sick' and their children reported them passing in the night with regularity, often followed by a bountiful meal the next morning. By 2135, there were only a handful of souls left in Nazareth, all devout cannibals. They would perish later that year from dehydration, however, and the desert would reclaim the compound over the next century, burying it's horrors beneath the sand. category:Chihuahua Category:Cults Category:Mexico Category:Groups Category:Defunct